I was 13 years old. My family had moved to Southern California from North Florida a year before. I hit adolescence with a vengeance. I was angry and rebellious, with little regard for anything my parents had to say, particularly if it had to do with me. Like so many teenagers, I struggled to escape from anything that didn't agree with my picture of the world. A "brilliant without need of guidance" kid, I rejected any overt offering of love. In fact, I got angry at the mention of the word love.
One night, after a particularly difficult day, I _____________, shut the door and got into bed. As I lay down in the privacy of my bed, my hands slipped under my pillow. There was an envelope. I pulled it out and on the envelope it said, "To read when you're alone."
Since I was alone, no one would know whether I read it or not, so I opened it. It said "Mike, I know life is hard right now, I know you are frustrated and I know we don't do everything right. I also know that I love you completely and nothing you do or say will ever change that. I am here for you if you ever need to talk, and if you don't, that's okay. Just know that no matter where you go or what you do in your life, I will always love you and be proud that you are my son. I'm here for you and I love you - that will never change. Love, Mom.
That was the first of several "To read when you're alone" letters. They were never mentioned until I was an adult.
Today I travel the world helping people. I was in Sarasota, Florida, teaching a seminar when, at the end of the day, a lady came up to me and shared the difficulty she was having with her son. We walked out to the beach, and I told her of my mom's undying love and about the "To read when you're alone" letters. Several weeks later, I got a card that said she had written her first letter and left it for her son.
That night as I went to bed, I put my hands under my pillow and remembered the relief I felt every time I got a letter. In the midst of my turbulent teen years, the letters were the calm assurance that I could be loved in spite of me, not because of me. Just before I fell asleep I thanked God that my mom knew what I, an angry teenager, needed. Today when theseas of life get stormy, I know that just under my pillow there is that calm assurance that love - consistent, abiding, unconditional love - changes lives.
1.What’s the best title of the passage?
2.Which sentence in the passage is the closest in meaning to the following one?
I reached out my hands for the letter under the pillow that night when I went to bed ,and I always felt relief with the letter under my pillow.
3.Please fill in the blank in the passage with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.(within ten words)
4.What do you learn after reading the passage?(within 30 words)
5.Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese.
Speaking from my past experience, it is very difficult to find good friends that you can trust but once you have found them, they are worth keeping forever! Therefore, I think friendship is the most important relationship that anybody could have.
The qualities I look for in a friend are a good sense of humor but sensitivity when it matters. Also that friend would have to be strong-minded and highly spirited. I think that these qualities are the key qualities to look for in a good friend.
Even the strongest friends can still have arguments, although usually about more serious topics, rather than the usual teenage childish arguments. Some matters can seriously affect a friendship. If one of your friends started experimenting with harmful and dangerous drugs, what would you do ? A good friend would try to help as much as possible, whereas a bad example of a friend would simply shrug(耸肩) and turn a blind eye.
Not only the bad things affect friendship ---- good activities do too. Such as bonding with one another, not just by going out on a night with them but by spending quality time with them and talking to each other, which indicates a good ability to communicate. This is a key aspect of a good friendship.
Good friends do not always have to be in the same age group as you. I have a good friend and she is 47 years old and I am 16.
Unfortunately, some people lose contact with their friends as they grow older, which is a sad way to lose a good friend.
I think friendship is one of the most important things in life because if you have no friends you will have no happiness.According to the author, true friendship _______.
| A．is easy to get |
| B．deepens with time |
| C．needs management |
| D．affects one’s happiness |
Paragraph 3 is mainly about______.
| A．why drugs are bad for teenagers |
| B．problems that will test friendship |
| C．ways that help avoid arguments |
| D．whether a friend is trustworthy |
According to the author, which matters least in friendship?
| A．Age. | B．Sensitivity. |
| C．Sense of humor. | D．Communication ability. |
Which of the following saying can match the author’s view on friendship?
| A．Old friends and old wines are best. |
| B．A friend without faults will never be found. |
| C．A life without a friend is a life without the sun. |
| D．a friend to everybody is a friend to nobody. |
A new genera tion addiction is quickly spreading all over the world. Weboholism（网瘾）, a twentieth century disease, affects people from different ages. They surf the net, use e-mail and speak in chat rooms. They spend many hours on the computer, and it becomes a compulsive habit. They cannot stop, and it affects their lives.
Ten years ago, no one thought that using computers could become compulsive behavior that could affect the social and physical life of computer users. Such behavior has seriously affected teenagers and college students. They are likely to log(写日志) on computers and spend long hours at different websites.
They become hooked（着迷） on computers and gradually their social and school life is affected by this situation. They spend all free time surfing and don’t concentrate on homework, so this addiction influences their grades and success at school. Because they can find everything on the websites, they hang out there. Moreover, this addiction to websites influences their social life.
They spend more time in front of computers than with their friends. The relation with their friends changes. The virtual life becomes more important than their real life. They have a new language that they speak in the chat rooms and it causes cultural changes in society.
Because of the change in their behavior, they begin to isolate themselves from society and live with their virtual friends. They share their emotions and feelings with friends who they have never met in their life. Although they feel confident on the computer, they are not confident with real live friends they have known all their life. It is a problem for the future. This addictive behavior is beginning to affect all the world.
The main idea of the passage is about__________.
| A．the cause of weboholism |
| B．the advantage of weboholism |
| C．the popularity of weboholism |
| D．the effect of weboholism |
We can infer from the passage that_______.
| A．weboholism has the greatest effect on teenagers |
| B．students can hardly balance real and virtual life |
| C．people are addicted to games on the Internet |
| D．virtual life is more vivid and attractive than real life. |
Which of the following is NOT true of weboholism?
| A．It contributes to the development of the web. |
| B．The chat room language may change social culture. |
| C．The problem will be getting more and more serious later. |
| D．People addicted to the web often become inactive in real life. |
When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm and, in the winter especially, we were quite cut off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that city life has its problems too.
One big disadvantage is money---it costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and at times the air is so bad that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of travelling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.
Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment. Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising---and, what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.
Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is, when you are in your teens(十几岁) or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?
| A．Staying on the farm |
| B．Moving to the countryside |
| C．Leaving home for the city |
| D．Running away from the school |
Which of the following is true about the writer?
| A．He is very old now. |
| B．He is in good health. |
| C．He prefers driving a car. |
| D．He lives in the city now. |
In the passage, the writer tries to _______.
| A．express his opinions about way of life |
| B．describe his life in the countryside |
| C．show an interest in the outside world |
| D．persuade the reader to live in the city |
How is the passage mainly developed?
| A．By inferring |
| B．By comparing |
| C．By listing examples |
| D．By giving explanations |
Science Fiction The science fiction type of entertainment is considered by most to be fathered by Jules Verne (A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) and H．G．Wells (The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds)．Sci-Fi, as it is commonly shortened, is a fictional story in which science and technology have a significant influence on the characters and plot．Many such works are guesswork about what the future holds and how scientific findings and technological advances will shape humankind．
Writing in the late 1800s, Jules Verne was remarkably successful in his 10 guesses about future technologies of air conditioning, automobiles, the Internet, television, and underwater, air, and space travel．Unbelievably, of all places from which to choose, Jules Verne guessed Tampa, Florida, USA as the launching site of the first project to the Moon, which was only 200 kilometers away from the actual 1969 location at Cape Canaveral, Florida．
One of the best-known science fiction books is Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell．Published in 1949, it was not meant as a prediction, but as a warning: Orwell was describing what he saw as the outcome of the ideas, trends, and emerging technologies of his time．Many invented terms from this novel have become common in everyday use, such as “big brother” and “doublethink”．Even the author’s name has been made into an adjective—Orwellian—and has become a warning descriptor for situations where privacy is lost and the individual becomes sacrifice under a totalitarian（极权主义）government．Nineteen Eighty-Four was translated into sixty-five languages within five years of its publication, setting a record that still stands．
What helps bring science fiction into being is usually a new discovery or innovation．The author creates an analysis of the potential influence and consequences and then wraps it in a pleasant story．For example, the beginning of space exploration was followed a few years later by the Star Trek television program and movie series．Advances in genetics（遗传学）cause fantasies of the end of disease, horrors of eugenics（优生学）, and thrillers where creatures disappearing long ago are brought back to life．The science fiction author’s self-determined role is that of field glasses for humanity—searching the world of future possibilities upon the road which we are traveling．What can science fiction offer to people？
| A．A forecast of how a new discovery could influence mankind． |
| B．A thoughtful look at the present drawbacks of technology． |
| C．An analysis of why a new technology could be used to harm human． |
| D．A thoughtful look at the past and what brought us to this point in history． |
Which of the following best summarizes the description of Nineteen Eighty-Four？
| A．A prediction of future technologies |
| B．A warning of cruel and unfair ruling |
| C．The consequence of scientific findings |
| D．An imaginary perfect world of freedom． |
From the passage we can learn that _____．
| A．Nineteen Eighty-Four adopted some popular terms |
| B．H．G．Wells predicted the Internet in the late 1800s |
| C．Cape Canaveral was mentioned in Jules Verne’s fiction |
| D．Star Trek movie series were based on space exploration |
According to the author, what is the role of science fiction in society？
| A．A moral compass |
| B．A reference of technology |
| C．A record of science development |
| D．A consideration of possibilities |
Does money buy happiness？Not！Ah, but would a little more money make us a little happier？Many of us smirk(傻笑，假笑) and nod．There is, we believe, some connection between financial fitness and emotional fulfillment．Three in four American college students—nearly double the 1970 proportion— now consider it “very important” or “essential” that they become “very well off financially”．Money matters．
But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly everyone can afford life’s necessities, increasing wealth matters surprisingly little．The connection between income and happiness is “surprisingly weak,” observed University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart in one 16-nation study of 170,000 people．Once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns(报酬递减)．The second piece of pie, or the second $100,000, never tastes as good as the first．Even lottery winners and the Forbes’ 100 wealthiest Americans surveyed by University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener have expressed only slightly greater happiness than the average American．Making it big brings temporary joy．But in the long run wealth is like health: its complete absence can create suffering, but having it doesn’t guarantee happiness．Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have．
Has our happiness, however, floated upward with the rising economic tide？Are we happier today than in 1940s, when two out of five homes lacked a shower or tub？Actually, we are not．Since 1957, the number of Americans who say they are “very happy” has declined from 35 to 32 percent．Meanwhile, the divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide(自杀) rate has increased nearly three times, the violent crime rate has gone up nearly four times, and depression has mushroomed．Economic growth has provided no boost to human morale．When it comes to psychological well being, it is not the economy．
I call this soaring wealth and shrinking spirit “the American paradox．” More than ever, we have big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low confidence, secured rights and reduced civility．We are good at making a living but often fail at making a life．We celebrate our prosperity(繁荣) but long for a purpose．We treasure our freedoms but long for connection．In an age of plenty, we feel spiritual hunger．Which of the following statements best expresses the author’s view？
| A．The more money we earn, the less returns we have． |
| B．The more money we earn, the happier we would be． |
| C．In the long run, money cannot guarantee happiness． |
| D．In the long run, happiness grows with economy． |
“The second $100,000 never tastes as good as the first” because _____．
| A．it is not so fresh as the first $100,000 |
| B．it is not so important as the first $100,000 |
| C．profit brought by it is less than that from the first $100,000 |
| D．happiness brought by it is less than that from the first $100,000 |
According to the passage, people do well in making a living but don’t _____．
| A．have any primary aim |
| B．know how to spend money |
| C．know how to enjoy life |
| D．keep in touch with other people |
The things that happened after 1957 are given to show that _____．
| A．people’s spiritual needs cannot be fulfilled by wealth |
| B．family problems become more and more serious |
| C．young people are not happy about their life |
| D．social crimes have increased significantly |